Hello All,
Many of you have helped me a great deal since I purchased my coach about a year or so ago. I sincerely appreciate all of the advice and help I got with trying to bring this coach back to a useable condition. I have most of the major bugs worked out of it, but in past discussions someone suggested by that I would want to upgrade the built in charger that operates under shore power. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I would guess that someone knows exactly what should be removed, and what to replace that with. Thank you again who helped me, you have saved me countless hours of research and more importantly, avoiding as many mistakes as possible, and I do appreciate that. Talk to you soon.
If you go to "My Account" top right of page, then go to signature and put in your coach information it will help people help you since they will then know what coach you own.
Very likely you have an old-style/"stupid" converter.
There are a number of smart converters out there. Size (in amps) is somewhat dependent on how you will use the coach. 40 amp is fine for general use. But, if you do a lot of dry camping and have to run the generator to recharge the batteries, higher output = less generator run time. Another factor on sizing the converter is what size battery bank (amp-hrs @ 12 VDC) and what battery technology (wet cell, gel, AGM or Li) you have.
And, also if you are considering adding an inverter, most inverters are actually inverter/smart chargers.
Give us some guidence on your needs and we can offer more specific suggestions.
If you wish to pick the brain of a reputable vendor, I would suggest you give Randy at BestConvertor a call. If you tell him what OEM charging equipment and batteries you have on your coach presently, plus how you plan to use your coach (always plugged in, or dry camping), then he can recommend possible upgrade paths. When I last talked to him (years ago) he answered my questions honestly, and didn't try to sell me stuff I didn't need. Randy stocks a diverse line of high quality components, so he can offer choices at several price points.
Note: I have no connection of any kind to BestConvertor, and derive zero personal or monetary benefit from this recommendation.
BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics (https://www.bestconverter.com)
A 84 FTX normally has two 8d open cell batteries in the step well area. And uses a 75? Amp charger in the tank valve area. Heat from the charger helps keep the valves from freezing in cold weather.
40 year later technologies would greatly increase your enjoyment level unless you camp from power pole to power pole.
When these were built campgrounds were mostly available and cheap so why not plug it in.
What exact model do you have?
To give an educated opinion on your options, you should fill out all the info on your coach as others on this post have done. Year, model, length, floorplan, etc. Look at Bob's post just above mine.
If you have a separate converter/charger with an inverter located in another location, Progressive Dynamics makes an excellent converter/charger as listed here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Dynamics-PD9260CV-Inteli-Power-Converter/dp/B000GASX9O/ref=sr_1_10?crid=15DMZJX6632JM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hsd9VceDqHjzxiX0CNPhuAE1-MX5xZ91D0tCknwGQ35sQ_wc6ePMRS17xtxH8UZkLC43Pv0dmQpe_iSnkkvPUDxFErf-6EvCUY2FgSBmOIXy361xYb2zM6dIpXqRa8_L54C9e6S8TDwl5dWyUq30-YJ9DhH0KC42vIJTwpyLxyCMyGvzKopZXWWxieW5K-wdZ99RECxMtLLXBC6VG6WIUCla1as6JkDXHbNnZKi9FSuu2Ri_nF8cI7O4seYBbsGh2919PpZcRfZ3K5S9bzvYSDYOStOeGBdac0g2GDXirXk.5tJvinnRA0n55qpfIRgR1QBEPgPiiSn96oEr1vu11rQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=rv+converter&qid=1730411717&sprefix=rv+converter%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-10&ufe=INHOUSE_INSTALLMENTS%3AUS_IHI_5M_HARDLINES_AUTOMATED
When our coach is parked at home, our converter/charger is on 24/7 and keeps the voltage almost exactly as advertised year after year.
If you have an older inverter, you will want to change to a sine wave inverter as they are much more efficient and will run your microwave 4 or 5 times as fast or the same speed as one plugged in at home.
I don't like to have a combination inverter/charger as it puts all the eggs in one basket. If one part of the unit fails, you have to replace the whole thing.
For maximum life span, size the inverter so it normal wattage draw is no more than two thirds of it's rated capacity. This is not the startup rating.
Pierce
I am not sure if this converter is in the area of the dump valves hanging from the ceiling above or if it is under the lift up engine cover under the bed. Some of the early coaches had it there and later years was moved outside due to noise and heat. Definitely need to have a 3 stage converter to keep from boiling the batteries. The 75 amp converters didn't monitor battery voltage and just kept charging like the batteries were low.